Sports Column: Raiders roster needs on offense

Saturday

Apr 15, 2017 at 3:53 PM

By Ken Barneskb96097@scglobal.net

Siskiyou Daily News guest sports columnist Ken Barnes discusses in today’s column the Raiders move to Las Vegas and the team’s offensive needs for this upcoming season. Part two on the Raiders needs on defense will run in the Daily News next week.

Vegas…ya, let’s go ahead and talk about the elephant in the room. One cannot put together a series about the 2017 Raiders without the mention of the most prevalent sports news story of the past three weeks. Barring a miracle, it’s almost a certainty the Raiders will be backing up the U-Haul trucks to their headquarters in Alameda and loading up…again. This whole subject needs a column of its own…but for now let’s just leave it at this…moving forward they will no longer be the Oakland Raiders, the Los Angeles Raiders…or even, God forbid, the Las Vegas Raiders…no. I vow from this day forward, for me, they will now only be “the Raiders”. Like a broken marriage, the Raider Nation has been ripped apart and needs time to heal.So, back to the task at hand. To properly evaluate the Raiders roster and isolate areas of focus for upgrades, we must first recognize a major change. For the first time in a decade and a half, this team is entering the season as a favorite. NFL experts and sports writers are in general agreement that the Raiders are a Top 5 team after posting a 12-4 record and making the playoffs in 2016. No longer the ugly step sister, the team is well respected and expected to compete for a Super Bowl berth. In today’s NFL you don’t go from a bottom dweller to a playoff contender overnight. It takes hard work both on and off the field by the players. But, more importantly in the front office where GM’s and entire scouting and personnel departments work year round. In the never ending search for talent upgrades, teams manipulate pieces of an intricate and extremely complex puzzle. Bound by rules dealing with a league-wide salary cap, players contracts, and limited roster spots teams are able to add and drop players using both the free agent period and the NFL draft. Our focus today will be the free agent period.Beginning in March each year, teams are allowed to negotiate with free agents from other teams. These players, who are no longer under contract, are free to sign with a team of their choosing. This gives the players freedom to choose, but also gives teams an opportunity to upgrade without trading current players away. Many times, it also creates a bidding scenario which creates a huge payday for the player. The Raiders had a long list of their own players hitting free agency this Spring. Almost all were considered expendable by the team and surprisingly, many moved on to other teams and got their big payday. The team lost eleven players thus far and has only re-signed one of their own in veteran long snapper Jon Condo. To help compensate for the players the lost, they have signed six new players. Many of these new signings are anticipated upgrades over the players they are replacing. For a closer look at roster needs we will start with the offensive side of the ball.OffenseRunning Back: Like many teams, the Raiders utilize a committee approach and spread out their rushing attack with three to four running backs. Rather than one lead back, they use several and keep fresh legs in the game through all four quarters. The team lost Latavius Murray to the Vikings and must find a suitable upgrade. With rising stars in both Jalen Richard and DeAndre Washington, the team is almost set. Needing that one last piece, there have been rumors linking the Raiders to Adrian Peterson from the Vikings. Peterson has been one of the top ball carriers since he was drafted in the first round of the 2007 draft. He is definitely on the wrong side of 30, and may be too much of a risk for the salary he will command for the Raiders to sign. I would assume since it hasn’t happened yet, the team has probably moved on. The latest rumor, which makes more sense, has the team luring local hometown superstar Marshawn Lynch out of an early retirement. Lynch has verbalized his desire to play for the Raiders and I fully expect the team may sign him if he files his papers for reinstatement from the NFL. Even at 30, his power running style would compliment the other backs on the roster. The signing would also be a good PR move to help sell tickets since he is a local Oakland boy.Wide Receiver: The Raiders lost one of their role players in Andre Holmes, but he will be easily replaced. The team did sign a possible upgrade in Cordarrelle Patterson, a young speedster who can fly. He is an All Pro Kick Returner which will give the Raiders another dangerous threat every time he touches the ball. Obviously, with rising superstar Amari Cooper and solid veteran Michael Crabtree the team is set for starters.Tight End: This is possibly the teams biggest weakness in recent years. All of the epic Raider Super Bowl teams featured a great tight end. Dave Casper, Todd Christensen and Raymond Chester helped shape the teams of the past. In a surprise move, the Raiders signed Jared Cook from the Packers. Cook turned down more money from the Vikings to sign with the Raiders. This is yet another sign of the changes in Oakland. Instead of having to overpay free agents to come to town, players are now taking less money to come here. Now we will see if he will improve our offense. Offensive Line: Wheelbarrows full of cash have been spent upgrading our offensive line into one of the best units in the league. We have four solid starters with three being borderline superstars…if such a status can ever be used to describe an offensive lineman. Kelechi Osemele, Rodney Hudson and Gabe Jackson make up an interior three as good as any team in the league. Veteran LT Donald Penn had a great year in 2016. Noticeably missing is any mention of a solid Right Tackle. The team has failed in finding a long term replacement since Lincoln Kennedy retired in 2003. The latest misses include Menelik Watson (signed with Denver) and Austin Howard. The Raiders have signed veteran free agent Marshall Newhouse from the Giants in an effort to fill that void. With no indication he will be anything but a serviceable backup, I fully expect the team to make RT a priority in the draft.Quarterback: The Raiders recent turnaround and success can be directly linked to the arrival of Derek Carr. With little debate, Carr is recognized as one of the best QBs in the league. His forte is displaying his knack for being a clutch performer and leading fourth quarter comebacks for wins. With Carr the face of the franchise for the next decade, the Raiders only need to find a reliable backup in the event of an injury. The team learned a painful lesson last season, when Carr broke his leg on a rare sack in week 16. Backup Matt McGloin and rookie Conner Cook both got their chances and failed miserably in back-to-back losses to end their playoff run. You can give Cook a pass for being a rookie, but the team let McGloin walk the plank (signed with Philly) and have replaced him with EJ Manuel from the Bills. While only 27, Manuel has enough potential to warrant a long look, but he is certainly not a lock to make the roster come September. Cook may end up as the No. 2 QB with increased reps during camp.Don’t be surprised if the team finds another vet from the cuts or drafts a late round project to groom. In a QB driven league, teams must always be several years ahead finding QBs who can step in and run the team.

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